Practicalities of travelling, mainly to Asia

Europe

As Europe is my backyard, I usually do not write down the details of my European trips. A few exceptions are available below:

– Azores, February 2017, February 2015 and May 2014 (English)

– Portugal, February 2006 and February 2009 (in Polish)

– Greece, February 2007 and February 2008 (in Polish)

Azores / Açores / Azory

Flores and Corvo, February 2017

6 days on Flores and 2 days on Corvo

Getting there

We booked 3 separate tickets by SATA Airlines (recently rebranded Azores Airlines) – Lisbon-Horta-Flores; Flores-Corvo and Corvo-Horta-Lisbon. We managed to get about the cheapest possible fares for each leg of the trip and paid ca. 44 and 47 euros for the flights between Lisbon and the islands. The Flores-Corvo flight was ca. 35 euros – much more expensive than the ferry (10 euros) but we opted for it as ferry schedules are quite uncertain in February.

Our flight from Horta to Flores was cancelled extending out planned stopover in Horta from 1 to 2 nights. Apparently it’s a common occurrence in winter as Flores airport in Santa Cruz is prone to side wind. Not that bad experience – Horta is a nice place (see more information below in the 2014 report) and for the additional night we were accommodated by the airline in one of the best hotels in Horta with full board.

While on Flores we found out about an interesting possibility – anybody reaching Sao Miguel by a flight by another airline (including Ryanair or Easyjet) from continental Portugal (Lisbon or Porto) is entitled to a free connecting flight by SATA to any other Azorean island, subject to availability. More information: http://encaminhamentos.sata.pt/en/Home

Information

As during our previous trips, we used the same map and guidebook (see below), free maps from the tourist information office and the MAPS.ME off-line smartphone application. We have also seen a very good topographic quality 1:25.000 map of Flores in one of the guesthouses but I have no idea where to buy it.

Weather

Flores and Corvo are the most rainy islands in the Azores and February is one of the most rainy months. It turned out to be true – it did rain quite a lot and most hiking trails were very muddy and slippery. Definitely not a good idea to hike with big backpacks! During our 6 days on Flores we had one day with perfect sunny weather, 2 days with some sun and some rain and 3 days with clouds almost all the time but still only some periods of rain, so hiking was possible. The plateau inside the island had considerably more rain and clouds than areas near the coast – in particular the Fajã Grande area was sunnier than most other parts of the island. The rain actually gives Flores much of its charm, as it feeds its many waterfalls. A rainbow over Lagoa dos Patos (Poço da Alagoinha) was pure magic.

The weather was also quite windy, meaning it can feel much colder than the actual temperature suggests, so having good trekking gear (waterproof jacket and shoes) is recommended.

Transport

Our initial plan was not to rent a car on Flores and rely partly on hiking with our luggage, partly on buses, taxis and hitch-hiking. Because of the rainy weather and slippery trails (hiking with big backpacks is definitely bad idea in such conditions) it turned out only partly feasible and finally we rented a car for the last 2 days.

Taxi – there are a few taxis on the island and they meet arrivals at the airport. We took a taxi to our first accommodation at Fazenda das Lajes, the cost was 13 euros. The ride from Santa Cruz to Fajã Grande apparently costs 17 euros.

Hitch-hiking – works out incredibly well on the island, as locals are really friendly. Each time we tried it, we were given a lift by one of the first passing cars and sometimes even passing drivers stopped to ask if we needed a lift when we were just walking along a road. The only problem is that sometimes there is very little traffic.

Car rental – we rented from Autatlantis (http://www.autatlantis.com/), an Azores-wide company. We did not succeed paying through their website, so we needed to book in their Santa Cruz office (in the airport building) – the price was 28 euros per day, calculated as full 24 hrs from the hour the rental starts. Good experience, fair fuel policy, no hidden charges or tricks. A local company Rent Ocidental (contact: rentocidental@yahoo.com, also in English) had cars for 29.50 euros per day at the same time.

Even if you plan to get around by hiking, hitch-hiking and buses (like our intial plan), it is a good idea to rent a car at least for a day and drive across the central plateau and especially towards Caldeira Rasa and Caldeira Funda. Another great drive was the mountain road between Lajes and Lajedo, south of the main road.

Accomodation

We stayed in two places on Flores and one on Corvo. All of them are highly recommended.

A Barraka (http://www.abarraka.com/Home) – located in Fazenda das Lajes in the southern part of the island. They are on Airbnb but it makes more sense to contact them directly by e-mail avoiding Airbnb fees. Simple but nice rooms, clean shared bathrooms (there are two bathrooms currently shared between two rooms in use but apparently four rooms will be in use in the future), washing machine, a very nice common area and kitchen with full cooking facilities (perfectly possible to cook your own meal). Run by very nice French couple who settled on Flores after travelling around the world. We paid 25 euros per room (high season price is 35 euros). There is a snack bar with good inexpensive food just below the guesthouse and a supermarket within short walking distance. Walkable to Lajes but that’s already quite a long walk.

Palheiro da Assomada (https://fajagrande.jimdo.com/, booked via booking.com) – an old barnhouse renovated and transformed into a lovely self-catering apartment in Fajã Grande, probably the most picturesque corner of the island and a really great place to stay a few days or possibly longer. Fully furnished (again with full cooking facilities) with remarkable attention to detail to make the guests’ stay as comfortable as possible, with a terrace and grill area. We paid 35 euros per night (it costs up to double that in high season). Perfect location in a very nice village, within short walking distance to a few shops (including one small supermarket) and snack bars. A perfect place for hikers, short walking distance to hikes in all directions. Owned by friendly British expats. Added bonus: the instructions received from Neil after booking were extremely useful and could easily serve as a practical guide to Flores.

We found Fajã Grande a bit short on restaurants during low season – in the central area only one, Jonah’s Snack Bar, was open in February. It was nice and very friendly but a bit more expensive than average (we paid 38 euros for a dinner for two that would probably cost some 25-28 euros elsewhere). There is another snack-bar called Denesi a bit lower in the village, towards Ponta da Fajã, and it might be worth checking out for travellers on a budget (it also offers cheap accomodation).

Comodoro (http://www.comodoroazores.com/, present also on booking.com) – one of few places to stay on Corvo. More expensive than other places where we stayed (50 euros for a double room) but very comfortable and with generous breakfast included. Actually it was place with comforts of a good hotel combined with personal touch of a family-run guesthouse. The friendly owner would happily give you a lift from and to the airport and even to the crater (if you don’t want to walk). As we wanted to hike to the crater she encouraged us to use breakfast stuff for taking a packed lunch. Added bonus for Azores fans – the lounge has a small library with a great collection of books on all topics Azorean. Located within walking distance everywhere in the little town of Corvo.

Hikes on Flores

1. Fajã Grande – Fajãzinha – Mosteiro – Lajedo. This hike took about 4 hrs along old paths between villages (extremely slippery and muddy in wet weather!). The initial part near Fajã Grande (trailhead is just near Casa da Vigia restaurant) was marked as closed because of an instable cliff a little farther on but it was still safe to pass, taking a reasonable distance from the cliff edge (the situation may change though, so caution is needed – cliff edge should never be approached in such areas!). There is a small shop and café in Fajãzinha but no shops nor cafes in Mosteiro and Lajedo. An afternoon bus from Lajes passes Lajedo on the way to Fajã Grande, so this hike is possible as a day hike using public transport. We did not need to wait for the bus as an English hiker kindly gave us a lift.

3. Fajã Grande to Caldeira Negra/Lagoa Comprida. Our biggest hike on Flores, ca. 700 meters ascent. Took ca. 5 hrs. First part was a steep ascent to the edge of the plateau, then across the central plateau towards the crater lakes. Spectacular views. Extremely wet and muddy – at least in winter the central plateau functions basically as a giant sponge holding enough water to feed all those spectacular waterfalls around Fajã Grande. Map (description in the opposite direction): http://www.azoren-online.com/flores/tipps/ausfluege/pr3flo.pdf

4. Fajã Grande towards Ponta Delgada. We walked only the first part of this hike – from Ponta da Fajã along a spectacular cliffside path half way up the cliff. Completing it would require arranging a lift to or pickup from Ponta Delgada. On another day we drove to Ponta Delgada and walked to the Farol de Albarnaz on the other end of the hike. Great views. Map (description in the opposite direction): http://www.azoren-online.com/flores/tipps/ausfluege/pr1flo.pdf

5. Short walks around Fajã Grande. There are several great places within short walking distance from Fajã Grande (anywhere between 15 minutes and 1,5 hrs). Vigia da Baleia (old whalers’ lookout), great waterfalls at Poço do Bacalhau and even more spectacular Lagoa dos Patos, the “end of the world” village of Ponta da Fajã.

Hikes on Corvo

Hike to the crater (Caldeirão). The longest hike on Corvo – 7 kms and 700 meters up along an asphalt road with views gradually changing from great to spectacular. The descent into the crater and the trail around the central lake is marked by wooden stakes with painted signs. For most of the way inside the crater there is no path and the terrain is very muddy, to the point of being outright dangerous in case of being lost in the fog.

Cara dos Indios. A nice hike up the hill directly above Corvo town, to the cliffs on the western edge of the island. We did it as an afternoon hike on the day of our arrival.

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São Miguel, February 2015

A week stay on the island.

Flight

Currently only TAP Portugal and SATA airlines serve Ponta Delgada airport. We managed to get tickets from Lisbon for the cheapest fare possible at ca. 90 euros for return flight. This situation will change very soon, as both Easyjet (from Lisbon) and Ryanair (from Lisbon, Porto and London Stansted) will start flying to Ponta Delgada from April 2015.

Getting from and to the airport

Taxi ride between the airport and anywhere within Ponta Delgada costs a fixed 10 euros. There is also an aerobus, cost 5 euros per person, return included.

Accomodation

We stayed in Ponta Delgada in Residencial Sete Cidades (http://residencialsetecidades.blogspot.com/), booked via booking.com. Their walk-in prices are rather on the expensive side but on booking.com we easily found a deal for ca. 32 euros per night for a double room with bathroom, breakfast included. The guesthouse is simple but has anything to make it a good base to exploring the island – clean and comfortable room, friendly service, quite good breakfast, good location (in the centre, yet easy to drive out of central Ponta Delgada), free parking with plenty of space, free wi-fi. Very recommended.

In difference to previously visited “Triângulo” islands (Faial, Pico and São Jorge, see below), São Miguel has a much better bus system that can be used to explore the island with some degree of patience. Scheme and schedules are available here: http://www.smigueltransportes.com/. However, it would require a very early start each day, long commutes (some bus rides take 2 hrs, while by car it is possible to get almost anywhere on the island in less than an hour from Ponta Delgada), and possibly long wait for the infrequent buses back. There is no bus to anywhere near Lagoa de Fogo, in my opinion the most spectacular place on the island. We opted for a rented car, like on other islands.

Car rental

We rented a car from Flor do Norte, a small local agency in Ponta Delgada (http://www.flordonorte-rentacar.com/). Recommended. Cheap price (we got our car for 20 euros per day, cheapest category, off-season), fair fuel policy (full to full), no hidden charges, no dirty tricks with alleged damage etc. that make renting a car in continental Portugal or Spain so annoying. Easy booking by e-mail, friendly service.

Their office is just behind the corner from Residencial Sete Cidades but they can also deliver the car to the airport at no additional charge.

Weather

Before opting for an Azores trip in February we were aware that it could be a hit or miss with the weather, as winter is the most rainy season on the islands. However, we were apparently lucky. From our seven days on the island it rained much only on one day but even then it was not raining all the time and the northern side near Ribeira Grande was better than the southern side. It was OK to skip hiking for one day and just to drive around and visit villages and towns. Another day with intermittent rain was just enough to visit Ponta Delgada. The remaining 5 days the weather ranged from good to fabulous, with perfect views, clear air, plenty of sunshine and mild temperature of ca. 16 degrees Celsius.

Information

We used the same map and guidebook that during previous trip to Faial, Pico and São Jorge – see below. In addition, we found the free map from the tourist information office (available from guesthouse reception) useful – not for the map of the whole island but for plans of Ponta Delgada and other towns. We have also used the MAPS.ME smartphone application and it was very helpful – it’s basically a more basic clone of Google Maps but the big advantage is that it works off-line.

Places to see – a few recommendations

The most spectacular sight of São Miguel are the “lagoas”, big or smaller crater lakes scattered around the island. In our opinion the best one was Lagoa de Fogo. There are several “miradouros” (viewing points) on the road above it, so it can be seen also without hiking. The best experience is hiking down from the lowest miradouro to the lake and then along the shore almost to the other side. The landscape seems sometimes like tundra somewhere in polar areas, sometimes like scenery to “Jurassic Park” (minus dinosaurs).

The most famous lagoa is Lagoa de Sete Cidades. We did not do the hike around it along the crater rim – it is possible but requires walking some parts along roads. What we can recommend is the less-known viewpoint near Lagoa do Canario, from the side of road from Ponta Delgada. It offers a view of the crater rim with the lake below and the ocean above, just a small round bagel of land lost in endless water. The miradouro is a 1-2 kms walk from the main road. The approach road is also accessible by car but the gate is closed at 4 or 5 p.m. (exact hour on the warning sign).

We also did a nice hike between smaller lagoas in the Serra Devassa, near the road between Ponta Delgada and Sete Cidades. There is a marked trail there for a circular hike.

A somewhat less expected upside of our São Miguel trip were the “fajãs”, small flat areas on the seaside under the cliffs, with semi-deserted villages, accessible usually only by a walking path down the cliffs. They were less spectacular than the more famous fajãs of São Jorge but nevertheless made very nice half-day hikes. We can recommend especially two fajãs:

– Rocha da Relva, accessible from Relva or from a miradouro further up the main road. Relva is quite close to Ponta Delgada, just behind the airport, and this trip should be very easy also by bus from Ponta Delgada.

– even better – Fajã do Araujo and Praia do Lombo Gordo, accessible from Pedreira near Nordeste on the easternmost part of the island. Spectacular views, rather secluded place in February – we had the whole beach to ourselves and it was warm enough for a quick dip in the ocean.

A recommended website for hiking in Azores (all islands): http://trails.visitazores.com/en. It shows official hiking trails, with maps and descriptions. Note: there are many more nice hikes beyond official trails, so a good map and a guidebook with some hiking ideas (see below) is very useful as well.

Faial, Pico and São Jorge, May 2014

Info

Map: 1: 50.000 Freytag & Berndt, also sold in Portugal by „Turinta” ed., basically a road map but good enough for hiking, even if trail markings were not always taken into account

A very informative website on Azores (but for German speakers too) is http://www.azoren-online.com/. it is especially useful for finding cheaper private accommodation (under “Unterkunft” for each island). Warning: some information, including bus schedules, is out of date.

Accomodation:

Horta: Casa Buganvilias (no sign on the house), http://msvieira.no.sapo.pt/, private rooms for rent in a new part of the town, 5 minutes walk to Porto Pim, a lot of free parking space, 40 minutes walk to the ferry terminal. 25 euros for a comfortable double room, fridge, shared bathroom (but we were only guests in the house). No wi-fi.

[New place from our stopover in February 2017]: A Casa do Lado, in central Horta, priced 35 euros for a double with breakfast. Nice, comfortable room. http://www.acasadolado.com/

Lajes do Pico: Apartamento Lajes, found on booking.com. No sign on the house, in the same building as a driving school. A fully equipped apartment (kitchen, fridge, bathroom, access to washing machine), 35 euros per day. Located in a very center of Lajes, across the corner from whale watching agencies. Free parking ca. 50 meters away in near the port. No wi-fi but the city authorities provide wi-fi in some locations nearby. Note: in order to book I had to send a bank transfer with part of the price, which might be difficult for visitors from outside the EU.

São Roque: Sportfish.pt, found on booking.com. A large comfortable bedroom with bathroom in a vacation home (access to common part with fully furnished kitchen and a swimming pool), 30 euros. Wi-fi and free parking. Located in a side street near Oasis car rental office (handy for returning the car) close to the road towards Lajes. Some 20 minutes walk to the port but the owner kindly gave us a lift for the morning ferry.

Velas – Hospedaria Australia (http://www.acores.com/australia/), Rua Drº Teófilo Braga, in the very center, no parking. A traditional basic guesthouse. 35 euros for a room with bathroom (no hot water in one room, low pressure in another), modest breakfast in an attached snack bar included. Free wi-fi.

Transport

Getting there: we took a flight from Lisbon. Only two companies fly to the Azores from Lisbon – TAP and SATA. At the time of booking our tickets TAP had very rare special offers priced below 100 euros for return flights, with very limited dates. Otherwise their prices started from 150 euros. SATA had prices starting from 120 euros, with much larger choice of dates. Cheaper flights were available to Horta (Faial), Ponta Delgada (São Miguel) and Terceira, flights to other islands were much more expensive. Finally we bought a ticket to Horta for 128 euros by SATA. Taxi from the Horta airport to the town was 12,50 euros [exactly the same price at our second visit in February 2017].

Between the islands: Faial has the advantage of being one of the “Triangulo”, three islands linked by regular and relatively inexpensive ferry link by Atlantico Line (https://www.atlanticoline.pt/p/p/).

It may be difficult to believe but from the regular ferry between Velas and São Roque we saw as many as three whales and four packs of dolphins, some coming just below the board of the ferry.

On the islands: probably the main drawback of moving around Azores is the very limited practicality of local bus transport. On Faial buses are completely useless for any hikes or trips out of Horta. On Pico buses can be used in a limited way from Madalena (schedules: http://www.cristianolimitada.pt/horarios_cristiano_limitada.html) but they are useless from any other town and do not reach anywhere in the interior of the island. On São Jorge there are two possibly useful bus connections (Mo-Fri only) from Velas – to Rosais on the western tip of the island and to Calheta, passing by Norte Pequeno and Norte Grande, allowing for a hike to the central mountains. Schedules are available in the tourism office in Velas.

In view of the above, for any serious exploration of the islands the choice is between renting a car, hitch-hiking or taking expensive trips by taxi. We rented a car on all three islands. We found our experience with rental agencies on all three islands to be fairly similar – they are not cheap compared to prices in mainland Portugal (30-35 euros per day for the cheapest small car, with no insurance) but they were straightforward, did not try any dirty tricks with fuel or alleged damage to the car. We used the following agencies:

Pico: Oasis (http://www.rentacaroasis.com/), 30 euros/day, no additional charges for pick-up in Madalena harbour and return in São Roque. Altogether they were the best agency during our trip. They also have cars on Faial. Booked by e-mail.

All above prices were without insurance. Typically the insurance was 7-9 euros per day for limiting the liability to ca. 900 euros or 20 euros per day for limitation to 50 euros.

Hikes and things to do

All three islands are simply amazing for nature and hiking and they are quite different, so not easy to compare. If asked to make a ranking, I would probably give Pico number one, with São Jorge a close second. We did following trips on foot and by car but there are many more interesting possibilities!

Faial:

1. By car from Horta to Capelo, walk from Capelo along a marked trail across two older volcanoes (Cabeço Verde and Cabeço do Canto) to the amazing new volcano of Capelinhos (emerged from the sea in the 1950s). There is a very informative interpretation center near Capelinhos (entry 6 euros), much helpful to understand how the volcano emerged. Back to Capelo by dirt roads above the seaside cliffs, starting in Porto Comprido. Altogether it’s a day trip, taking into account time needed to visit Capelinhos volcano and for a picknick lunch. A map is available for download here: http://trilhos.visitazores.com/pt-pt/trilhos-dos-acores/faial/capelo-capelinhos

2. Around the Caldeira, the central volcano, climbing Cabeço Gordo (the island’s highest point, 1043 meters). There is a road to a parking just below the crater rim, from there the full circle took us 3,5 hrs, plenty of photo breaks included. The problem with this hike is that it is very often in the middle of the clouds. When the clouds allow for that, the view inside the Caldeira seems to show a strange lost world. Sometimes the clouds cover the crater rim but allow for a view inside, so it is worth trying even in cloudy weather. Map available: http://trilhos.visitazores.com/pt-pt/trilhos-dos-acores/faial/caldeira

1. Climbing Pico (2351 m), the highest mountain in Portugal. The starting point is Casa da Montanha (http://parquesnaturais.azores.gov.pt/en/pico-eng/what-visit/interpretation-centers/mountains-house) on ca. 1250 m, accessible by road (no public transport). All visitors are registered and get a GPS device with connection to the rescuers for the case of emergency. [UPDATE 2017: after our visit a fee of 10 EUR has been introduced for climbing the summit. I have no information whether it is actually charged in practice.] The trail is very clearly signposted by numbered wooden poles. The actual peak is a smaller volcanic cone located inside the larger crater. In order to reach it one must descend a bit to the crater (almost no altitude loss in this place), cross it and climb some 100 meters across “frozen” lava flows and volcanic rocks. This last part is the only part with some slight difficulties – orientation for finding right passage in the rocks and balance in scrambling using all-fours is needed in two or three spots. Altogether the climb and descent took us some 8 hrs, including a lunch break and plenty of photo breaks.

2. Car trip through Lagoas on the ridge inside the island. Very recommended. Landscapes are amazing, sometimes right from an African savanna, then after a few meters like from a Scandinavian saga. There is an acceptable paved road all along the ridge, passable even in a small car.

3. Westernmost tip of the islands. Parking in Piedade, walk to the lighthouse in Manhenha (easy, along paved or dirt roads), then along the coast northwards. The part along the coast is a marked trail (map: http://trilhos.visitazores.com/pt-pt/trilhos-dos-acores/pico/porto-calhau-manhenha-ponta-da-ilha) but it is not at all easy, as it requires jumping across huge lava boulders, sometimes unstable, and for several parts there is no path at all, just signs painted on the boulders. We found it more difficult than the Pico climb and finally gave up and returned to a village path inland at the first possibility.

4. Whale watching! It was a highlight of our Azores trip. We took a 3 hrs trip with the very professional Espaco Talassa from Lajes do Pico (http://www.espacotalassa.com/ (departures in the morning and afternoon). Not cheap at 54 euros per person but definitely worth it. Pico is probably the best place in the world for seeing whales and May was about the best season in the year. The trick with Espaco Talassa is also that they use an ancient lookout above Lajes (previously used by whalers) and their whale-spotter calls the boat skippers to direct them towards the whales. During the trip we saw three species of whales, including sperm whales and the world’s largest – blue whale, as well as a pack of dolphins. The guys from Espaco Talassa are a treasure-trove of information on marine mammals, provide very informative explanation and keep an exact record of their sightings (available on the website).

Afterwards we also saw whales and dolphins from the São Roque – Velas ferry and dolphins from the coast near Velas.

São Jorge:

1. Rosais and down to Fajã de João Dias. We took a bus from Velas to Rosais (9.45 a.m., weekdays only, starts near the Compre Bem supermarket), walked along local paved roads to the starting point of the 400 m descent along an old trail to the fajã (or a small flat area under the cliffs). There is a small village in the fajã, still inhabited by some people, and provisions are brought in by horse. After slogging the 400 m back uphill we went back to Rosais by taking a round walk via a forest park and another viewpoint to the northern coast, missing the only bus back to Velas at 3 p.m. in result, so we needed to walk the remaining 6 kms to Velas.

2. Fajã dos Cubres to Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo. We have reached the first fajã by car, by a quite adventurous narrow access road carved in the steep slope. Fajã dos Cubres is linked to Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo by a very nice trail, sadly frequented by quad bikes, taking ca. 1-1,5 hrs in one direction. Both fajãs are inhabited, there are quite large villages there including snack bars and even some accommodation.

3. Pico da Esperança (1053 m, highest mountain on São Jorge). An easy and beautiful walk from the highest point of the trans-island road between Urzelina and Norte Grande. Altogether it took us 3 hrs there and back, mostly along a dirt road, only the top itself was accessible by a grassy path.

There is also a hardcore version of this hike accessible by public transport on weekdays – 07.25 a.m. bus from Velas to Calheta goes through Norte Grande and Norte Pequeno. From either of the Nortes there are some dirt roads allowing an easy ascent to Pico da Esperança (ca. 700 meters up) and then it is possible to walk along dirt roads and then side paved roads to Santo Amaro and Velas. All should be doable in a day but it would be a long hike. It seems to be worthwhile only when the central ridge is not shrouded by clouds.

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2 thoughts on “Europe”

I cannot thank you enough for this post! I found your link on Trip Advisor. I leave for Sao Miguel tomorrow for a week long trip. I’m really looking forward to it. Your tips are going to be very helpful in helping me plan. Did you reserve your rental care ahead of time or did you do it after you arrived on the island?